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Interview with Author Michael Noe

Today, I’m featuring an interview with author Michael Noe. He’s a writer of horror and his book, The Darkness of the Soul, will be available May 1, 2016, from Fat Lip Press.

What is your name? Michael Noe

Do you have any pen name(s)? I don’t. I thought about it though. I think everyone has at some point. You always want a better name than the one you’re stuck with.

What genres do you write in? I’m horror and splatterpunk. Those are my roots.

Being a writer of gore myself, I’ve encountered strange looks and comments about my writing choices. Have you had similar encounters? People, for the most part, have been pretty receptive. There are a few that may be shocked by how dark my material is but once they meet me and talk to me they see how normal I am so that helps.

Where in the world are you? I’m in Barberton Ohio. We’re known for fried chicken which isn’t healthy but man is it good.

Where is your favorite place to write? Right now it’s in my library/computer room. In the summer, you’ll find me on my front porch

How long have you been writing? I started when I was thirteen. I had been reading Pet Sematary and a light bulb went off and I just knew that I wanted to write. Had no idea how to do it, but that didn’t matter. We were starting to do stories in English class and I remember taking it way more seriously than everyone else. Spider Man Vs. The Aliens from Mars, and a story based on a Quiet Riot song called Twilight Hotel. I did take several years off because I was married and had a child and there just wasn’t enough time to do all three.

What does your writing playlist look like? It’s all over the place. It all goes by mood. I have been known to listen to Barry Manilow and Taylor Swift. Those are interesting days. Some days it’s Yes or Kiss.

Where do you look for inspiration? As a writer, I find inspiration everywhere. I actually had an interesting interaction with a lady who was rather drunk or crazy, but I plan on using her as a character. The beautiful thing is that inspiration always finds me when I least expect it.

What project are you working on now? Working on the edits for The Darkness of the Soul which is coming out May 1st from Fat Lip Press. I also have a story in their Fat Lip anthology coming out soon. There’s also a new book that I’m working on. That should be done sometime this summer.

Of all the characters you’ve created, who is your favorite and why? Kevin from my first novella Legacy. He was a lot of fun to create because I really had to tap into the darkest part of my soul for that one.

What is one thing that you’d never write about? Is there anything that’s off-limits? I don’t kill kids, dogs and cats in my work. It’s just not something I’m comfortable with. It’s funny because my writing is so dark and violent you wouldn’t imagine that those are two lines that I won’t cross, but as a father and a pet owner those are two things that I have way too much respect for. I love my kids and I love my dogs and cats.

What do you hope your readers will take away from reading your books? I hope that they see how much I love horror. There’s no lessons in my work or some kind of hope for humanity. It’s all about the love for horror and keeping this genre alive.

If you could have any career, other than writing, what would it be? Surprisingly there isn’t anything.

When you’re not writing, what do you do with your time? I do a lot of reading. I also collect records and when I have time I try and watch Shudder and Netflix.

Who is the greatest influence in your writing career? Influence wise Richard Laymon because the guy was a master at breaking every rule he could in the horror genre. There is no one greater than Laymon.

I love Richard Laymon as well! What would you say is your favorite book by him and why? There are so many great Laymon books, but the one that I always go back to is Come Out Tonight. It was one of those books that just stuck with me. That had the perfect villain and the violence was all a part of the story. It had to be that brutal to be effective. Laymon really opened up my eyes to how great horror can be. You didn’t need rules or boundaries. Come Out Tonight proved that.

If you could spend one hour with anyone, who would it be and what would you talk about or do? Just one? I would say Laymon. I would love to talk to him about writing, and how he was able to create such great villains. When he passed the horror genre lost an icon.

Where did you get the inspiration for your latest novel? The main inspiration was loss and alienation. It was a chance for me to grow as a writer and test myself. Taking everything that everyone tells you about love doesn’t always turn out that way. There’s always a dark side.

Describe your latest book in ten words or less. William Taylor’s characters have manifested themselves through his computer to exact their revenge while Nick is on a collision course destroy the woman he loves. Too many?